Friday 22 November 2013

Feedback!

Chuffed to get some feedback from a recent Games for Libraries workshop:  

“I found the day exceptionally useful and well done. I was really impressed by how well Andrew Walsh incorporated theory and background into a primarily hands-on training. I got quite a few tips for teaching and engaging students through play that were totally new for me and I believe that certain aspects of what he taught will stick with me, particularly the caveats and pitfalls for developing games in university contexts.” 

“I found the Games Day session very useful and informative. The whole nature of the day appealed to my inner child and I found I was able to bring out creative ideas in a friendly environment very easily. Not only was the day very enjoyable but I feel I gained some great ideas that can be taken forwards elsewhere. I particularly loved the embedding of game elements throughout the day, little things like the ideas cards having extras like ‘steal someone else’s idea card’ forced real positive interactivity to the session which added both to the atmosphere and the embedded learning.” 

“I thoroughly enjoyed the event. It was well structured and presented, and the slight indifference I felt before the day quickly dissipated. Andrew reminded us that game playing and play takes us beyond the norm – we step through the magic circle he described to a world of holiday and difference where anything may happen. It may be the wood in A midsummer night’s dream or the island in Lord of the flies: one hopes for the former. From confusion represented by the many tiny pieces of Lego, counters, pens, pots of Playdoh, etc., through the thought processes and the group collaboration, to order and the making of actual games, that could be played, it was a fascinating process.” 

“I found the day really productive and interesting. Having experienced workshops with Andrew before, and also taken part in lego workshops with Andy Priestner, I didn’t have some of the reservations of my colleagues, and it lived up to expectations. I think the game our group came up with is worth polishing up and pursuing further, maybe with some added lesson plans and other ideas for including it in teaching.”

Thursday 14 November 2013

Stairway to Heaven



A board game aiming to show the value and range of information sources available to students.  A prototype from Making Games for Libraries workshop run at York St John University, November 2013.

Give OR take AND win NOT lose



A card based search strategy game, focussing on boolean operators. Using cards you have to form a search that describes a word on the central game board.

PAP: Protect against Plagiarism: Build your defenses


A game aimed at improving students awareness of what plagiarism is, particularly self-plagiarism. Points are awarded for answering questions correctly (as a team), with those points visually displayed by building a tower.

Induction-Doh: How to become an information ninja



This board game introduces players to the campus and resources (particularly the learning centre) at York St John.

York St John event

Had a great day at York St John this week, invited by Katy to run a making games workshop. We ended up with four prototypes by the end of the day, which should appear as soon as my very slow internet connection can upload them!

It was a mix of people at the workshop, not just librarians, and it was great how people such as IT and library worked together to create the games.